（独家揭秘）英语阅读理解难点——生词破译法 生词再多也不怕
阅读理解中如何准确地猜中陌生单词词义 线索无处不在
在英语阅读中，尤其是在考场上，往往会遇到一些从未见过的单词，在不允许查阅词典的情况下，需要读者运用一些技巧来破解生词词义。多数有经验的读者能够通过上下文提示猜个八九不离十。其实原文作者并非有意刁难读者，事实上，一个好的作者会想方设法让自己的文章表达清晰易懂，所以他们常常会提供一些有利的线索，而读者所能做的，就是破译这些线索，找出其中的奥妙，从而猜出新词的意思，而破译得越到位，猜得也就越接近新词本义。本期的青青英语教室将为大家介绍几种不同类型却较为常见的线索，并教大家如何破解这几类线索，增加您对阅读的自信！
在英语阅读中，常见的线索有如下几类：
1.某些生词后面附带短语或句子解释其义。释义通常由特定的标点符号引出，比如破折号，冒号，小括号等等。（青青提醒大家：这些标点很可能成为破译的向导，所以英语学习者千万不能小看一个小小的标点！它们的学问可大了！）
例句：Day after day the sports pages are filled with stories about the vast sums Real Madrid, the hottest brand in world football, is offering for David Beckham of Manchester United.
解析：“the hottest brand in world football”由逗号隔开，紧随生词之后，揭示了这是世界上最火爆的足球俱乐部，理解到这个层面，足以达到阅读的目的，就算对足球没有研究也不影响解题。
2.与第一种有异曲同工之妙的，一些能起到帮助作用的词，如近义词，紧随生词之后，通过特定的标点引出，也常常成为重要的线索。
例句1：Because of the slow movements, shadow boxing, also known as tai chi chuan, is frequently associated exclusively with senior citizens.
解析：第一次介绍像“太极拳”这种中国特色的词语时，为了让不熟悉中国文化的外国人看明白，最好同时呈现两种表达方式；同时也可以让第一次接触生词的中国学生恍然大悟。因此，“also known as”这样的字眼，相当于“=”，前后文两个概念等同，读者可以择其一而从之。
例句2: Eco crisis- ecocatastropheor ecocide- has been for some time one of the major concerns of not only the eco activists and environmentalist, but of many scientists of other fields and the government authorities of many countries as well.
解析：此处三个单词——生态危机、生态灾难、生态灭绝，实际上是同一个概念，由破折号和“or”区别呈现。
3.借助一个或几个句子，描述与新词词义相反的情况，读者要懂得反其道而行之。
例句：When I went to senior middle school, I was eager to continue studying English; however, my experience in senior school was very different from before. While my formerteacher had been patient with all the students, my new teacher quickly punished those who gave incorrect answers.
解析：从语法角度入手，猜测该词在该段文本中意思，分析连词“while”的用法特点，while所连接的前后两个句子意义上恰好形成对照，基于该项规则可以推断，与后半句关键词“new”所对应的概念即“the previous”。
4. 一些作者会借助较为通俗易懂的表达法、用读者已知的词汇，来解释陌生单词的意思。（也就是英英释义法，建议学习者平时多看看牛津双解词典当中的英文释义，学习如何用简单的英文来解释较为复杂的英文。）
例句：The most wonderful result of having learned a foreign language was that I could communicatewith many more people than before. Talking with people is one of my favorite activities, so being able to speak a new language lets me meet new people, participate in conversations, and form new, unforgettable friendships.
解析：本段用了较通俗的词组“talking with people”来诠释较高级词汇“communicate”的涵义，该方法旨在变换表达方式传递同等意思。
5.有时候，含有难懂词的句子前后文，往往出现一两个句子，或短语，它们存在的价值，就是为了阐释难懂词的含义，这也是原作者“自圆其说”的一种手法。（读者可以换位思考，尝试与作者做个心灵上的对话，会发现作者真是“善解人意”呢！）
例句1：I had a kind and patient teacher who often praised all of the students. Because of this positivemethod, I eagerly answered all the questions I could, never worrying much about making mistakes.
解析：“positive”的前文所阐述的内容，尤其是关键词“praise”一词，恰如其分地解释了该词词义——老师经常表扬学生，这是一种正面的教学方法。
例句2：When I went to senior middle school, I was eager to continue studying English; however, my experience in senior school was very different from before. While my formerteacher had been patient with all the students, my new teacher quickly punished those who gave incorrect answers.
解析：该词在该段文本中意思十分容易猜测，从“former”的前文内容及其在本句所对应的关键词“patient”可推断，该词是概括the previous teacher的教学品质。
例句3：Not only did learning another language teach me the value of hard work, but it also gave me insightsinto another culture, and my mind was opened to new ways of seeing things.
解析：紧随“insights”的后半句在某种程度上揭示了该词的内涵，因为“new ways of seeing things”可以是“powerful ways of understanding things”的其中一种表现形式。
例句4：The use of solar panels, which capture energy from the sun to power lights and other electrical appliances, has been widely touted as the next big thing in green buildings.
解析：本句中含有一个定语从句说明“solar panels”的功能，读者可以从该定语从句所描述的功能中倒推出新词组的意思。
6.一些关键词，特别是在阅读理解中不得不破解的新词，作者往往特地给出释义，或变换表达方式来表达相同的意思。释义或同义异形表达法可能是几句话，也可能更长，一大段，视具体语篇而定。少了这块补充内容，阅读过程将晦涩难行，所有的不解都将源于这个生词。这就叫“关键词”。如果不是考场上条件限制，强烈建议读者打开词典认真查阅，化疑问为真知，这样才能进步。
例句：I practiced all the time. I carried a little dictionary with me everywhere I went, as well as a notebookin which I listed any new words I heard.
解析：“notebook”的释义，在紧跟的定语从句“in which I listed any new words I heard”中非常清楚地体现出来。同时，读者可以通过前文内容验证猜词的精确度。
7.一些作者会在生词之后举例说明，读者便可以通过对所举的例子进行分析理解，在脑海中构建该新词的意思。
例句：When I was a school girl, I did well in almost all the subjects- geography, biology, physics, literature, chemistry and English, except for science.
解析：由破折号之后的所列举的众多学科名称可以归纳出“subject”其意为“学科”。
8.通过构词法规则破解新词词义。常见的构词法知识包括前缀、后缀、字根、派生、合成、词性转换等等。
例句：Teenagersare sometimes criticized for being too sentimental.
解析：该词由三个部分组成：“teen”，表示数字13-19，“age”表示年龄，后缀“-er”表示人，组合起来就是：十几岁年龄段的人，即“青少年”。再结合句意来验证，青少年时期有时容易多愁善感，这一点为成人所诟病。
9.还有一些新词需要读者借助常识或自身经历对词义进行联想猜测。